1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a line control apparatus connected to a telephone line, facsimile line, and telephone, and the line control method, and computer-readable storage medium thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a facsimile apparatus has been used which has a function to automatically respond without ringing a ringing bell in the case of an incoming facsimile (non-ringing incoming mode), in order to avoid unnecessary ringing of the ringing bell of a telephone when a facsimile comes in.
FIG. 9 illustrates an NCU (network control unit) of a facsimile apparatus in a standby state in the case of a situation wherein ringing incoming mode is set (non-ringing incoming mode is not set). In the example shown in FIG. 9, a CML relay and H relay are both in an off state (a state wherein voltage is not applied to the relay), and a telephone line interface and telephone interface are connected.
In the case of a facsimile arriving in the state that the ringing incoming mode is set, a signal from the telephone line is transmitted to the telephone in accordance with a calling signal (CI signal) being detected in a CI signal detecting circuit, and the telephone rings. Upon the user instructing facsimile receiving, the CML relay becomes in the on state (a state wherein voltage is applied to the relay), and the telephone line interface and facsimile communication circuit are connected.
Conversely, FIG. 10 illustrates an NCU state in the case that non-ringing incoming mode is set. In the example shown in FIG. 10, the CML relay is in the off state, and the H relay is in the on state. That is to say, the telephone interface is not connected to the telephone line interface.
In the case of an incoming facsimile in this state, the CML relay becomes in the on state in accordance with a CI signal being detected in the CI signal detecting circuit, and the telephone line interface and facsimile communication circuit are connected. In the case that a CNG (calling tone) signal is detected in the facsimile communication circuit, the facsimile communication circuit executes the facsimile communication.
On the other hand, in the case that a CNG signal is not detected in the facsimile communication circuit, the CML relay and H relay are both in the off state, and the telephone line interface and telephone interface are connected. Thus, facsimile data can be automatically received without ringing the telephone in the case of an incoming facsimile, and in the case of incoming for voice communication, the telephone is enabled to ring to notify the user.
However, in the case of realizing the non-ringing incoming mode with the above-described method, problems such as those below can occur. That is to say, in the case of the above-described method, in a standby state the H relay must be constantly left in the on state. Therefore, power to operate the H relay is necessary, whereby power consumption is increased for the facsimile apparatus in the standby state.
Also, on the other hand, an arrangement may be considered wherein the state of the H relay telephone line interface and telephone interface being connected is in the on state, and state wherein the telephone line interface and telephone interface not being connected is in the off state. However in this case, power necessary for the standby of the above-described non-ringing incoming mode can be suppressed, but power to connect the telephone interface to the telephone line interface becomes necessary. In such a case, if the power source of the facsimile apparatus unit is turned off by a power outage for example, the telephone interface cannot be connected to the telephone line interface, whereby communication cannot be made.
In order to resolve this problem, a method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-030272 is considered. According to the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-030272, in the standby state the call-out portion and line are in a connected state, and the call-out portion and line are disconnected in accordance with a CI signal pattern that is correct to a certain degree being detected before a formal CI signal from the line being detected. Thus, a non-ringing incoming mode can be realized while power consumption in the waiting state is suppressed.
However, in the case of realizing the non-ringing incoming mode using the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-030272, problems such as described below can occur. That is to say, with the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-030272, the CI detecting unit detects a signal from the line, and a disconnecting unit disconnects the line and call-out portion in accordance with determination that the signal thereof is a CI signal pattern that is correct to a certain degree. Determination is subsequently made formally as to whether or not the signal thereof is a CI signal. With this method, following the disconnecting unit disconnecting the line and call-out portion, the signal from the line is not transmitted to the call-out portion, and the ringing of the ringing bell can be prevented.
However, with the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-030272, the line and call-out portion are disconnected before the formal CI signal is detected, but during the time from the time that the signal is begun to be transmitted from the line until the call-out portion is disconnected, the signal from the line is still transmitted to the call-out portion. That is to say, regardless that the incoming call is an incoming facsimile, the call-out portion still rings, and the user can mistake the incoming for an incoming telephone call.
The present invention is made to resolve the above-described problems, and enables power necessary for the standby state to be suppressed, while providing a line control apparatus that prevents unnecessary ringing of the telephone at the time of an incoming facsimile, and the line control method, and computer-readable storage medium thereof.